


His guard

by numbika



Category: Discworld - Terry Pratchett
Genre: First Kiss, Idiots in Love, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-02 18:12:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15801915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/numbika/pseuds/numbika
Summary: Vetinari was aware that he was a little light-headed.Maybe not just a little. And our best commander can't get over the worried thoughts as he finds himself in front of the Patrician's Palace.





	1. Poison

**Author's Note:**

> Sybil is in this (will be in this), but she's the gay queen of the town, who just wants the best of her friends. Also she can clearly see what's going on between Vimes and Vetinari...or what should.

_I am his guard. At least I should be. Even that accursed vampire pointed this out, it was even on my family crest for gods' sake._

Vimes took a big puff from his cigar and leaned against the cold stone wall of the bridge.

It _was_ on it. Before it was banned by the city of course. A lot of things changed from that time, including the system that controlled the city. But the problem wasn't with the ruler for once, it was with the attempt on its life. Somebody broke the law, and the victim was the Patrician. Again.

A bigger puff of smoke escaped from his lips, mixing together with the mist. Vimes started to walk again, crossing the Brass Bridge, and letting his legs do the work of guiding him.

A small part of him used this opportunity to start acting up.

_If anyone else would have been the victim, it wouldn’t be such a big deal, just for us in the watch._

The commander flicked the end of his cigar into the Ankh.

If it was about somebody else, they would conduct the investigation just the same way. Everything would have happened the same way. He raised his gaze, but the mid autumn mist covered the sky like a dirty gray blanket.

 _I would react the same way_ , he added to himself, just in case. He rubbed his face, slowly breathing in and out trough his nose, and he tried to shut the image from his mind of the helpless Vetinary lying on the floor, as fast as he could. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, when the nausaiting feeling that came over him after seeing that rushed out again.

For once, he was happy that he couldn’t made it to Lady Ramkin's lunch. He was invited again, but he couldn’t go, he didn’t even want to. The woman was more adept at judging peoples emotions and thoughts from their apparence than any watchmen still on the force.

He stopped when the soles of his feet reported him the feeling of cobblestones. He was just around the Patrician's Palace, irregular, slightly curved blocks of stones. Vimes shrugged a little. This wasn’t indicative of anything, really, he was thinking about the poisoning. The method, the cause, all of it. Of course, his feet brought him here.

If I here, then I can check it out. Just to be sure.

Tonight, it was Detritus who was on duty to guard Vetinari. Outside Constable Downspout watched over the city from above, guarding the roofs. Then, there was Gimletson, Flint and Moraien who were all inside the palace itself. Nobody could have reached the Patrician without being detected.

His legs guided him up towards the room of the Patrician. He knocked on it, and he waited just a second longer than it was necessary.

Inside, Vetinari sat in his bed, still up. When he looked up, inside Vimes a small and usually quiet portion of him slowly commented on the fact that the usually cold and calculating eyes of the Patrician seemed a little bit softer today.

"Commander. To what do I owe this for this sudden visit?" Vetinari smiled and Vimes stopped in the middle of the room, a little bit dumbfounded. "I can assure you that that nobody tried to enter my room yet. You have chosen my guards well."

Both of them knew that something wasn’t quite alright with the situation, but Vetinari wasn't the least bit bothered by this fact.

The light of the candle flickered, revealing a little bit more of the shadows than before.

The patrician folded his arms in his lap.

"Thank you, sir." Answered Vimes finally and walked to the window. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make out more than Constable Downspouts shape in the roiling fog.

Vetinari broke the silence again, and Vimes visible flinched from the sudden sound. "I have been thinking during my dinner." The Commander turned towards the leader of the city.

"I believe if someone try to kill you, and almost succeeds, you have a certain duty to think about your life." Vetinari smiled and then continued "hopefully not for the last time." He took another one small pause and cocked his head to the side. "Intresting notion, life flashing before your eyes. As if it wasn’t moving fast enough as it is."

Inside Vimes, some sense of unease stirred up even more to this.

"It had a chance to flash once before." Vetinari slowly placed his hand on his injured thigh.

The silence of the room was sometimes broken by the heavy thuds of Detritus walking around outside.

Vimes realised that his conversation partner was waiting for some kind of answer. He cleared his throat. "Yes...sir?"

His thoughts crashed into each other.

The Patrician never chatted. He hardly ever talked about himself. Yes, they have talked countless times in the Oblong Office, but most of it was professional talk. Even those rare times when the Patrician told him about philosophy, he mostly just remained quiet.

"Sometimes I get caught up in my thoughts." Started again the ruler of the city, which made the unease almost unbearable inside Vimes. He started to panic. "When I rest between two diplomatic letters, or after reading a report, I start thinking about what could have been."

"Sir?" Vimes stepped a little bit closer. "Should I send someone to get some water?"

Vetinari smiled again, clearly aiming it at him, which made his heart step out of rythim. "No, thank you, but please, do take a seat commander."

And he did as he was asked to. He didn’t even tried to argue with his lord, first time in his renewed carrier.

"Sir?"

Vetinari closed his eyes and a certain atmosphere descended on the room. It was a feeling Vimes haven’t felt for a very long time. The kind which compless people asking things like 'Why did it become so hot all of a sudden?' or 'Do you mind if I unbutton my shirt?'. The commander swallowed slowly. "Sir?"

The Patrician looked at him with a curious, blue eyes, and ask suddenly. "What is it like being under the influence of the gonne?"

Vimes's fists tightened slowly. The past rose behind his eyes just to make rude gestures at him.

"Wrong." He averted his eyes towards the window. If the fog have had a sense of fear, it would have dissolved itself due to that gaze.

He still thought about that day from time to time. Most of all he tried to forget the sound of thad damned weapon. If Carrot wouldn’t have been there...Well, he often thought about that. Especially in dark stormy night. The bigger part of his self often tried to convince him that he could have resisted the power of the weapon. That he wouldn’t have shot the assassin. But a small, cruelly honest part always contradicted to that cowardly notion. _If Carrot wouldn’t have been there_ , he wouldn’t be Sam Vimes anymore.

"Was it all thanks to the Captains presence?"

Vimes was pulled back to the present in an abrubt fashion, and shook his head looking at Vetinari with confusion. "Sir?"

The patrician smiled and waved no with his hands. "Nothing, really. I am sorry commander. I shouldn’t have mentioned such sensitive topics. As you can see, I am fine. "

"Yes, sir."

"It is really surprising what a couple drops of poison can do to a persons mind."

"Aside from killing it, sir?"

"That might actually be the most fortunate outcome Commander" Vimes waited patiently, as the Patrician watched him with a silent but intense gaze. The Commander had to really concentrate to shut out the creeping embarrassment that slowly flushed his face. A small whispering voice asked him in his head 'Why did it become so hot all of a sudden?'.

"Poison can do some _really_ interesting things with a persons mind."

Vimes didn’t see what was coming, and he didn’t fully comprehend it even after he left the palace. He was there, he talked with the ruler of the city, and then he was kissed. And now he was walking on the streets.

As the grey mist slowly dissipated, so does the one in his head. His legs carried him towards an unknonw destination as his mind ticked on. Even though it was almost dawn, he didn’t feel tired at all. He was, at peace, content. That was the feeling that made him into such a confused mess. The feeling of peace usually stayed about as much distance from him as the concept of "clean" from the Ankh.

There was a kiss. The thought stopped every other, including his motion to light another cigar. He sighed and rubbed his face closing his eyes. For a second the memory appeared before his eyes once again, he sat just beside Vetinari's bed.

His lips were surprisingly soft, I would have thought…

"Oh, for gods' sake!" He threw away the perfectly intact cigar, and thumped home, to get some rest and clear his head.


	2. Lady Ramkin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Commander has lunch with Lady Ramkin, after 2 weeks the Patrician was poisoned.

Autumn creeped over Ankh-Morpork more and more with every passing day, the fog was replaced by heavy rains and the temperature began to fall.

Commander Samuel Vimes waited patiently until Willikins opened the door.

"Sir Samuel," the butler respectfully bowed and invited him in. "Lady Ramkin is waiting for you in the dining room."

"Thank you, I'll find my way." Vimes handed over his cloak, and grabbed his helmet under one of his arms.

During the last few months he has learned the way in the big house. Well, at least the entrance, the back entrance, and the dining area were perfectly well known to him.

Since the dragon incident, Lady Ramkin has been invited him more than a couple of times, and when he failed to show up, apparently the lady decided to act on the matter, and appeared personally in Pseudopolis Yard and took the commander with her to a talk. After the first couple of quite awkward time, it was appaerent that she just isn’t going to stop, so he decided it would be prudent to simply agree and go as to avoid all the huff. He even began to ease up about it, and had already appeared at several times voluntarily.

He hated his rank for sure, but when Lady Ramkin was present, everything became a bit more interesting. It was fun to watch sometimes as the blue-blooded part of the city is forced to let his or her nose down and tries to become more acceptive. The lady herself told him that she got marriage offers more than a couple of times before, but they all ran away after the first day had to spend taking care of the dragons. Not to mention that it is very difficult for a man to marry to lady who doesn't have any interest in the simpler gender.

The sound of conversation could be heard from the dining room. The commander recognized the voice of two people, Lady Ramkin and maid Sophi. The latter has been at the house for at least half a year and always around the lady. Vimes smiled slightly.

As he entered the conversation died down, but it didn't leave any unpleasant silence. That was what always comforted the commander when he was here.

"Well, finally, the commander has arrived. I thought I had to go fetch you again." Lady Ramkin welcomed her with a wide smile. Her dress was simple, but proper as could be. The lady never paid too much attention to her attire, but she inherited more than her fair share of clothes. Even for important dinners, she just choose one which didn’t caught too much attention. No, she hadn't needed any clothes to find herself in the center of such attention. It was enough to be herself. He was weird, and such, interesting and new amongst the samey, bored nobles. 

"I'm sorry to make you wait, I was held up by the yard. Greetings to you ladies."

Sophia gave him a small courtsie, "Good day, Commander! Unfortunately I have to go, but I wish you a good appetite!"

Vimes walked to the table and put down his helmet "thank you for the invitation again, Lady Ramkin."

"Sybil," corrected the lady automatically as she measured the commander with a glance. "And do not be so grateful, I can see you are much thinner. It's not right. In your age and job, you have to pay more attention to eating healthy to remain strong."

The commander gave a small snort as an answer and the lady measured him up again, this time more critically.

"Hm."

"Yes, Lady Ramkin?" The commander took a seat at the table, which, thanks to the lady, was big enough for a six-person company to comfortably sit, but small enough that two people did not have to shout if they sat at the opposite end of the table. Fortunately, since this was the case right now.

"Let's eat, and while we dine we can talk, at least this way you can't run away with some kind of 'unforeseen, urgent case'."

As soon as Sybil's sentence ended, they brought the soup. He couldn't deny that sometimes for his body needed some food that was, for a change, was properly prepared, like baked or cooked.  The fact that everything floating in it was identifiably food, was just a welcomed suprise.

"What's happening in the city nowadays, Samuel? It's been two weeks since Havelock got bedridden, and we almost had to look for a new ruler."

"There is peace, or at least the closest to it that it can be in Ankh-Morpork."

Two weeks passed already.

Lady Ramkin rang a bell and soon the seconds serving is arrived. It was baked potates with fried meat. Nothing overtly complicated, just simple, but filling food that had the habit of making the commander worry that he will be unable to work it down. While the food was eaten in relatively silence, he felt the ladys inquisitive glare on him.

Something was off.

While eating the last bite, the Lady wiped his face and stood up from the table. "Would it offend you, If I would ask you to accompany me for a visit to my dragons, Commander?"

Something _is_ off.

"Of course not, I wanted to light up a cigarette anyway."

Vimes followed the lady unblinking, even when he caught her eye.

At the end of the house, loud, chirping cries came from the dragon-pens. So, a fresh batch of hatchlings were born, Vimes noted. When they stepped into the housing, the warm stale air hit him like a mallett, and he placed his helmet on his head.

Lady Ramkin put on a thick apron, the edges of which were thoroughly blackened. It also had more than its fair share of holes, caused by gods only know what. She picked up a bucket of coal and started her way towards the dragon-pens. The commander waited patiently.

"Its been twoo weeks."

There it is.

"Yes, m'lady, two quiet weeks."

The lady snorted which was not really lady-like but at least quite expressive.  "Maybe for the city, but you can't fool me, my dear."

"M'lady?"

"You lost weight commander, and as I heard, you started to avoid the Patrician's Palace."

Vimes swallowed a little and had to lick his dry lips.

"Something has happened that neither you nor Havelock wants to talk about, and that can't be anything good." Lady Ramkin dropped a handful of coal into one of the pens and came to a halt when a jet of appricative flames bloomed before her. "What did you do, Commander?" There was no sharpness in her voice, yet the commander's stomach tightened around itself.

"What did _I_ do? _I_ didn-…" He stopped himself in mid-sentence, because he had said too much.

The shuffling, crying, and snarling of the dragons were a constant background noise, but nevertheless the commander could sowore that he heard his own heartbeat louder, and louder.

"What happened between you two?"

"Nothing" he answered way too quickly.

"So, there was something," the lady stepped closer and handed him bucket of coal "you didn't take advantage of Havelock's weakness when he was ill, did you?"

"Me taking advantage of him?!" Vimes's face flushed red and he thrudded to one of the pens, and chucked almost all of the coal with him into it, much to the joy of the baby dragons inside.

"Just as I suspected. Frankly, I knew something happened, and Havelock was less likely to behave in that state, but I couldn’t be sure. Even his secretary noticed it, he was the first one to tell me about it."

"What?"

Lady Ramkin smiled and gave out a small chucle when the man flushed more and turned away. "Oh dear, what happened?"

Vimes put the bucket down and slowly blew the air from his lungs. "It's just...nothing."

"Oh gods, that serious?"

"He just kissed me."

_There it is, I just said it._

"And?"

The commander glanced up to the lady, and suddenly he wasn’t sure if he heard that right or not.

"What do you mean  _and_?"

"He kissed you, but that's a good thing. At least it should be."

"How," Vimes paused for a moment, "how could this be a good thing? He kissed me when he was barely himself, and since then he behaves as if nothing had happened. At least so far I knew how should I act around him, but now..." he blew out his breath slowly, "gods' sake, I'm acting like a kid."

"No wonder Havelock is so tense." Lady Ramkin graciously tapped the shoulder of the commander slowly as he was slowly descending into an existential crisis.

"I don't think he's capable of that, m'lady. At least because of some emotional thing."

"Maybe not, but it's also true that Havelock has decreed that guilds should present cost and profit statements by the end of the month about their previous year's expenditures. Including taxes."

"Oh gods," Vimes stared at him in complete horror.

The Patrician was not famous for exacting pity vengencae upon his enemies, people was scared him because he knew everything about everyone and when he decided that someone caused too much trouble, he disposed of them in the most effient way possible. There was attempts to remove from his position before, but that time he put everything to order with a couple of sharp smiles, and the veiled threats behind them.

But this...

"The leaders of the guilds will have an emergency meeting soon. Poor lads, they may try reasoning with Havelock."

Vimes shrugged "Well, its not like they wont deserve what will come of it."

"Now it is your sense of justice, or your pride that’s speaking? Anyway, you should talk to Havelock, Commander."

Vimes threw out a last piece of charcoal from his bucket which managed to stuck at the bottom and leaned against the closest empty wall. He was insitinctively searched for a defensible position, both against the dragons and from the lady's honest observations.

"I did it yesterday, I gave him a full report."

"Come on now, dear."

"Let's say I'll go to him. What good could it do? Even Constable Downspout has more detectable emotions than Vetinari."

Lady Sybil slowly shook his head, "let's just say that maybe he has some feelings, from the real human varietiy, but he was forced to keep it hidden until now."

"Nonsense," her guest snorted as he lit a cigar in one of the flames coming from the dragon pens. Because if he has any feelings, then...then? This was always the the ditch that stopped the wheel of his thoughts. That was the idea that kept him up in the last two weeks at night. What if it wasn’t just a result of the Patricians fever dreams? What if the ruler of city also has problems like an average Ankh-Morporkian? Feelings, Vimes simply couldn't imagine.

"But what if its true? Humor me commander. What if he didn't just accidentally kiss you that time?" The lady was an expert in figuring out his thoughts just from minute shifts in his expression. Even if he himself didn’t want to acknowledge those very same thoughts. Half of the time he felt grateful for that.

"Nothing, there's nothing," finishing the cigar he put it out on the back of a desk, "even if he feels something, he will not allow himself to actually show it. The Patrician can't have any weak point. "

"Why not?"

"Because then he will be in danger, and so does anyone who matters to him."

"I noticed that you actually love being in dangerous situations. Not to mention the ever rising price of your elimination in the assassins' guild."

Vimes thought once again came to an abrupt halt "absurd. He can't...not possible."

"We do not know this." He could feel the lady's hand on his shoulder, "but we know the facts, dear. He is flirting with you and teasing you since that trouble with the Draco nobilis. Maybe even more importantly he likes to talk with you. He even interested in the development of the city's guard. He watches over the City Watch, my dear. He's a cunning ruler, and a great manipulator, but still a man."

The words reached Vimes's ear and his mind processed them the way only a hard-boiled police veterans brain could.

"Bloody idiot just kissed me. I'm gonna kill him if he did that just because of some rational plan!"

"It's gorgeous, but you can only find out if he had or not, if you talk with him." Ramkin gently pushed  his guest out of the dragon pen, all the way to the gate, then closed it behind him with a self satisfied smile. "I'll be waiting for both of you on dinner next weekend, Saturday."

As she walked into the house, Sophia and Willkins waited on both sides of the door.

"Has Sir Samuel finally gathered his courage?"

"More like his anger, but it works better for him, I think," the lady nodded with satisfaction. "He doesn’t have time to think about it this way."

"Nice work my lady." Sophia chirped, "I hope they will be happy."

"I too hope so Sophia," She gently put her cloak into the dresser, "they deserve each other, the really do" she sighed slightly. "Although this might not be as simple as it should be. They love to do the things in the complicated way, especially when it comes to emotions."


	3. The lover of the Patrician

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you try to talk with your loved once, but he just reply with his logic. And that's when you became pissed.  
> Best option for a romantic scene, isn't it? 
> 
> ~~~
> 
> I'm still sucks with summaries. I know.

Sir Samuel was prowling in the city, his legs stepped away on their own while his thoughts chased each other. His offical working hours ended at least 2 hours ago. But he still didnt want to go home even though the sky was almost completely covered with grey rainclouds by now.

Sybil was right...in some things. This situation can't go on any further. He wasn't realy sure what exactly happened inside of him, but whatever it was, he needed to resolve this. He had a feeling, or at least he hoped, that Vetinari have the same kind of thoughts as him, confused and maybe doubtful. Yeah, sure... Vetinari in doubt, or he'ss being confused. _Don't kid yourself Vimes_. The worst he could get was getting lost in thoughts during a meeting.

With a sigh, he stopped at an intersection and rubbed his eyes. That's it, he blew a big breath out on his nose and made a decision. If there is no other choice, I had to stick my head into the dragons mouth voluntairly.

 

Lord Vetinari was standing in front of his windows, when a knock could be heard from the door. He had a feeling that soon this conversation would take place and he was thinking about the opportunities it offered. Before answering, he lowered his arms. He put them around himself at least three times already, it was an old-time childhood habit that he was convinced he already grow out of it.

"Open" he said, turning towards the door.

"Sir."

"Sir, Samuel, what do I owe this sudden visit to?"

The commander took his helmet under his arm "I want to talk about what happened two weeks ago."

I _want_ to. Not I _would like_ to. Not that I _would be glad_ to talk about it, but _'I want to'_. Why don’t you jump straight into ordering? You really want to see the palace prison from the inside again, Vimes.

"I'm listening Commander." Vetinari sat at his desk and lit the candle placed there. The gaze of the commander stopped at the flames for a moment.

"Why did you do it?" For the first time since 2 weeks, he looked straight into the patricians eyes. They seemed cold for him.

Ankh-Morpork's sole ruler slowly sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I believe you are referring to the time when I kissed you in the mouth, commander. And you left without a word."

"Yes, sir. Indeed. Can I be honest, sir?"

Vetinari's face softened a little, and a small smile spread trough it. "You haven’t been so far? Oh my commander, I don’t know if I should dare to hear you do it then. But nevertheless, I'm intrigued."

Vimes nodded a little and as he put down his helmet on the table he sat down on the opposite of the Patrician. "In the past two weeks, I've been thinking a lot. What was that all about? What benefit might have come from it? Whether, it had any logical basis for it, or you really just couldn’t control yourself anymore?"

Vetinari remained there, elbows on the table, resting his chin on his closed fingers. "And what did you come to?"

"That I have no idea," he said, frankly. "I'm not a good cop, so much that two people died because of me, one of them never even had much chance to live. But, unfortunately, I have a very thick skull."

Licking his lips, he rummaged around in his pocket for a cigar and gave the Patrician a questioning look. Vetinari nodded.

"When I only figure out that behind it all was a gods' damned royalist vampire, after a couple of days, even though he practically read out loud his plans in front of me then..." Vimes lit his cigar"...then I don’t think I have even slight chance to figure out what you're thinking. But that couldn't and won't stop me from listening to my intuitions."

"And what are they saying, Commander?"

Vetinari himself was surprised at how differently his conversation partner acted compared to his usual self. Still, it gave him some pleasant feeling of safety, the first time in two weeks.

"I don’t think you had some kind of grand scheme regarding that kiss. I think you were acting under the influence of the poison," Vimes said, after taking a smoke, "sir."

"And what should we do now, sir Samuel?"

"Hell if I know!" he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, unable to see that Havelock let himself a small moment of sincerity, and smiled. "From the two of us, its you who are planning everything forward. I just don’t know..." Vimes waved his arms towards the window. " Piss off everybody? And then when they break the law, I throw them into Tanty."

"I have a certain feeling, that you are talking about a very specific social layer of the city."

"I did not notice it, sir." Vimes smiled as he finished his cigar. He did not notice how he lowered his shoulders as the tension began to ease throughout his body.

"However, as Lady Sybil pointed out-...Don’t look at me like that, she has a special talent in getting people to tell too much about themselves. Lets just don't talk about it, or think about it, please." He could have sworn that the Patrician let out a small chuckle.

"All right, Commander. I understand. Carry on, please."

Vimes felt the redness creep up on his face.

"Well, I...I enjoyed that night even if I was unable to function at all until the next morning. Not to mention the fact that there are so many people who are trying to kill you in this city, that my involment with you would be just a drop in the ocean."

"There would be no problem, with what Sir Samuel?"

"All of this," Vimes waved around the room awkwardly, then to himself and finally to Havelock, who was not at all disturbed by all the gesturing. "I'm not good with emotions, sir, and I know you understand what I'm trying to say."

Vetinari stood up from the chair and walked to the window. "So, as I understand, Commander, you are thinking of some kind of relationship? Romantic I assume. Despite the fact that I read in the papers number of times that you want to end me with your own hands. And you haven’t even tried to hide that fact."

"At least I have nothing to hide." Sam stood up and walked towards the ruler of the city. "We both know that on pure logic I would win the most with your death. Depsite that, honestly, I would be the last one who would want that."

"Honesty, hm?"

"Sir?" Vimes stopped a few steps behind The Patrician.

Vetinari was standing upright, every fiber of his being tensed up. He tried not to concentrate on his desperately beating heart. "And what would happen If I would say, I knew it?" 

"Sir?"

"Not from the beginning, but-"

Raindrops started to fall outside, slowly covering the window with a seeth of water.

"Turn around." Vimes voice was different, the patrician couldn’t help but do it as it was told, and he looked straight into the commander's eyes.

"When?"

Vetinari thought for the briefest of moment, mainly for show, he already knew the answer, "far too late. I couldn’t have stopped what happened, especially since I was still under the influenve of the poison." His voice become empty. He considered all the options, the most logical and predictable it was.

That was the way it should be.

"Why are you telling me this? Why now?"

"I like to think, even if you might think otherwise, that I have honor and that dictates it."

Vimes looked aside him to the windows, at the other side of the glass the shadows of the city seemed to have grown.

That surprised him... and yet, not really. He expected his inner cynic to chime in on the matter, but the fact that his pride took it almost as bad, was a little bit surprising. His feelings were trampling over themselves on their way to make themselves heard.

"We were fools, we looked at everything and yet we did not find the cause, not in time. We looked, but couldn't see." He closed his eyes slowly.

The patrician waited silently, ready to defend himself verbally if necessary. He didn't want to pay attention to the feeling in his chest. Last time he felt like this was when he lost Wuffles.

The commander came to a decision. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"You stupid bloody stubborn rational asshole."

Vetinari took a surprised step backwards and leaned against the window. "I beg your pardon?"

"What I would like to do the most now is to beat the everliving shit out of you! But you wont get rid of me so easily." Vimes moved closer quickly, " _of course_ , you knew that there was poison in the damn candle! You were a crippled assassin and you did nothing else but you were sit on your ass! Exactly _what I should have done_ if I want to be honest! Just sit down and think about it a little instead of worrying and running around, then I would have realized it. I should have listened to my men for once. Cherry repeated the characteristics of arsenic so many times that I should have dreamed with them!"

"Commander?" Vetinari raised an eyebrow.

"Do not give me, this _'you should think about to use this tone with me'_ look. I'm tired, hungry and pissed off because the one the blind lady of love choose for me is the ruler of a city, who is unpredictable, and he tried to take my job, and even tried to push me away just because of such nonsense as logic!"

By the end of it he was out of breath. 

The smile returned the face of the Patrician. "Then we can say that as hard a case is this person, it suits you well." He reached out and touched the commander's hand and embraced him.

"Yes, I'm starting to think that too."

The kiss was as awkward as it had been two weeks ago, perhaps even a little bit more coarse thanks to Vimes raging emotions, and lingering anger. But Vetinari did not mind. He didn't really care for anything. Except perhaps when the Commander pulled back a little to get some air.

"And what we should do now, Sir Samuel?" Havelock buried his fingers in the commanders hair, and pulled him closer to himself.

"I don't know about the right now, but Sybil is waiting for us next weekend for a dinner, and I'm sure that we can't get away from it. Not this time, not together."

"Should I consider it a date then, sir Samuel?"

"Oh shut it," he answered and after another kiss added "my lord."

"I think I could get used to this, Commander."

"I have no objection, its worth a try at the very least."

Vetinari stopped for a moment, "I wonder if the price on your head will get higher due to this?"

"Maybe a little bit in the future. And I'm always ready to help in the education of youth."

"Sir Samuel Vimes, City Guard Commander; 50,000$." Vetinari kissed him softly, then smiled a little "and 100,000$ for the lover of the Patrician."

"Ch, you wish." The commander felt as he blushed again, and pulled the city's ruler back into a kiss who was happily let him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reading!  
> This is the last chapter, and I hope you liked it. I just wanted to write some fluff without any drama.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for the reading! I hope you liked it.


End file.
